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Magical Congress of the United States of America (Dethroned King)
The Magical Congress of the United States of America, commonly referred to as MACUSA, is the governing body with authority over wizarding communities in the United States of America. Consisting of representatives elected from magical communities across the United States, the primary goal of MACUSA is to establish laws and provide protection for American wizardkind. Established in 1693 after the tragedy of the Salem Witch trials, MACUSA has had the reputation among the international wizard community for being staunchly against the integration between non-magical peoples and wizardkind, with legislation such as Rappaport's Law making it illegal for wizards to marry muggles up until it was repealed in the 1960s. Headquarters Location The current headquarters of the Magical Congress of the United States of America is located in the Empire State Building, in New York City. Due to MACUSA's hard stance against No-Maj discovery of wizardkind, the location of the headquarters of MACUSA has always been extremely fluid throughout its history. Description Main Entrance The official entrance to MACUSAs headquarters can be located through the left-most door in the main entrance. An owl is carved above the door, a traditional sign used to denote MACUSAs presence, and a doorman is present as well. The carving is bewitched to be invisible to No-Majs, The entrance is encased in multiple muggle-repelling charms, and in dire circumstances the doorman can charm the entrance to enter the No-Maj portion of the building. Witches and wizards can also apparate inside of the main hall and avoid the entrance altogether, a practice encouraged by MACUSA to lower suspicion that multiple people entering a certain door could bring. Grand Hall The entrance opens up into a flight of stairs leading up to a large square chamber, with a glass ceiling bewitched to show the weather free of New York City's skyline. In each corner are identical statues of bronze eagles, and directly in front of the stairs are two elevators, each leading to different floors within the building. Although there are only two tracks, the elevators are bewitched to hold multiple cars, enough that no wizard is kept waiting. In between the two elevators is a banner of the current President, Samuel G Quahog along with the motto of MACUSA -- Integritas, Unitas, Virtus, Magia, meaning Integrity, Unity, Virtue, and Magic. On the opposite side of the room are two memorials; the first, the traditional Salem Witch Trials memorial depicting three women, one child and a man, and a new memorial depicting a a wizard and witch in solidarity, along with the names of the twenty-one wizards and witches killed during the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001. Inside the main hallway are multiple benches, a wand-cleaning station, and newspaper stands. On either side of the main hall are fireplaces for those traveling by the floo network. Floor One: The Chambers of the Magical Congress The location of the governing body of MACUSA, the Congressional Chambers benches on both sides and a Pentagram in the center of the floor. The President has a throne with the MACUSA logo on the back of the throne on a tier with a red curtain and the MACUSA logo behind it and benches on both sides of the throne. Unlike many of its predecessor chambers, the Congressional Chambers of the Empire State Building headquarters are lighted from bewitched window panes on all of the walls, which shows varying scenery depending on the day and time. Floor Two: The Department of Magical Law Enforcement Often regarded as the most important floor of MACUSA, even more than that of the Congressional Chambers, Floor Two houses the Department of Magical Law enforcement and a multitude of departments and sub-departments that align with MACUSA's primary function: establishing order within the United States wizarding community and maintaining the Statute of Secrecy. It is also considered the largest and busiest floor, with wizards and witches streaming through it daily. The elevators leading onto Floor Two lead into the lobby, a seating area with multiple benches and a statue of the twelve original Aurors, over which the Magical Exposure Threat Level Measurer hangs. Other departments housed on Floor Two include the Department of Aurors and US Auror Divisions, Department of No-Maj Misinformation, Department of Unidentifiable Magical Objects, Department for Confiscated Items, Federal Bureau of Covert Vigilance and No-Maj Obliviation, Department of Surveillance Wizarding Resources, Major Investigation Department and the International Auror Liason (the only international relations department to not be located on the fourth floor). History Early Years "Unlike most Western countries, there was no cooperation between the No-Maj government and MACUSA." - MACUSA's strict rule regarding Muggle relations The Magical Congress of the United States of America was established in 1693 with the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy, as a direct result of the Salem Witch Trials. Thus this means that MACUSA pre-dates the No-Maj formation of the United States of America by around a century. One of representatives was Josiah Jackson, who became the first President of MACUSA. Josiah was thought to be strong enough to deal with the troubles caused by the Salem Witch Trials. The first task of the North American wizarding legislature was to put on trial the Scourers, a unscrupulous and brutal band of wizarding bounty hunters and racketeers, executing those convicted of murder, wizard-trafficking, and torture. Josiah Jackson's main priority when he became President was to create and train Aurors. There were only a select few to start with, with only two of them surviving to old age. They won the enduring respect of the magical community in North America, which was extended to their descendants. MACUSA has had to move its location at least five times since its inception. Originally, MACUSA had no definite meeting place and moved around so it would not be detected by No-Majs. Due to the fact that America had a very hostile relationship between magical and non magical people, there was no cooperation between MACUSA and the No-Maj government. Eventually, MACUSA created an enchanted edifice in the Appalachian Mountains as their headquarters. However, they had to change it as it was in an inconvenient location. In 1760, MACUSA relocated to Williamsburg in Virginia where then President Thornton Harkaway lived. Harkaway bred Crups, which possess a great aggression towards non-magical people. When the crups attacked local No-Majs, it led to a great breach of the Statute of Secrecy and Harkaway had to step down due to disgrace. MACUSA then relocated to Baltimore, where President Able Fleming lived. However, when the Revolutionary War began, MACUSA decided to move to what would become Washington, decades before the No-Maj Congress even built the city. In 1777, then President Elizabeth McGilliguddy presided over the infamous Country or Kind? debate. It was an extraordinary meeting which led to the expansion of the Great Meeting Chamber. They discussed whether to support their community or their country and whether to fight for liberation from the British Muggles. They also debated whether it was really their fight. The argument did not go well and it led to a fight. Pro-interventionists argued that by intervening, they could save lives, while anti-interventionists believed that they would reveal their community by intervening and place it in danger. They sought the advice of the Ministry of Magic to find out whether they intended to intervene on their side and they replied with only a four word letter —'' "Sitting this one out". McGilliguddy replied with an even shorter message stating ''— "Mind you do". Ultimately, they did not intervene, but they did attempt to protect their No-Maj neighbours unofficially and celebrated Independence Day. Due to the indiscretions of the dim-witted witch Dorcus Twelvetrees, the then President Emily Rappaport created Rappaport's Law, which would enforce strict segregation between the No-Maj and wizarding communities. Henceforth, wizards were no longer allowed to befriend or marry No-Majs, and penalties of such fraternisation were harsh. Communication was also limited to that necessary to perform daily activities. During this time, MACUSA worked strictly independent of itself from the No-Maj government to decrease the possibility of exposure. Under Rappaport's Law, MACUSA continued to avoid communication with the No-Maj community for many years, and MACUSA also continued to impose severe penalties on those who disobeyed the International Statute of Secrecy. After the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892, MACUSA was forced to relocate its headquarters for the fifth time in its history, and moved from Washington to New York City at the Woolworth Building where it remained throughout the 1920s. The rebellion was blamed on Irene Kneedander, Head of the Body for the Protection of Magical Species. Kneedander had taken to attacking a Sasquatch that had done something wrong which led to their decision to rebel. It had led to great Obliviations in Washington. They needed a new headquarters, and over the course of several years, wizards infiltrated the construction team of a new building in New York. By the time the Woolworth Building was completed it could both house No-Majs and —'' if activated by the correct spells ''— transform into a space for wizards. The only outer mark of their new secret location was the owl carved over the entrance. Twentieth Century Sometime at the end of the 19th century, legislation was introduced which would require all American wizards and witches to have a permit allowing them to carry a wand. This was a measure that was intended to keep tabs on all magical activity and identify the perpetrators by their wands, thus making the concealment of magic easier. Rappaport’s Law was still in operation in the 1920s and several offices in MACUSA had no counterpart in the Ministry of Magic. Unlike the No-Maj community, which had a strict Prohibition law against alcohol for many years, MACUSA allowed the wizarding community to consume alcohol, though many criticised this policy, pointing out that it made witches and wizards rather conspicuous around sober No-Majs. However, the then President Seraphina Picquery stated that being a wizard or witch in America was already hard enough. At one point she famously told her Chief of Staff that the "Gigglewater was non-negotiable." Newt Scamander also visited MACUSA during the 1920s. In the 1920s, the President of MACUSA was Seraphina Picquery from Savannah. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was headed by Percival Graves, a well-respected descendant of one of the original twelve American Aurors. It was during this period that the MACUSA closely monitored the terrorism committed by the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald and his followers in Europe, also cooperating in the international search for him. It is also known that during this time Grindelwald's ideals influenced MACUSA workers. By 1926, Gellert Grindelwald had infiltrated the MACUSA by assuming the identity of Director of Magical Securityand Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Percival Graves at a time when the MACUSA's Major Investigation Department was attempting to discover the identity of an unknown magical force causing severe devastation throughout the city. He used this high-ranking position to manipulate a No-Maj boy Credence Barebone into revealing the identity of the unknown magical force. In December of 1926, British Magizoologist Newt Scamander was detained by former MACUSA Auror Tina Goldstein when he inadvertently caused a series of breaches of the International Statute of Secrecy related to his case of magical creatures. The severest breach occurred when Scamander accidentally swapped cases with No-Maj Jacob Kowalski at a bank in New York City, leading to various creatures escaping. The three then set about attempting to recover the escaped magical beasts without reporting the incident to wizarding authorities. Whilst this was occuring, the unknown magical force killed a No-Maj Senator in front of guests at a fundraising dinner. As a result, the International Confederation of Wizards, already concerned with the rising levels of MACUSA's Magical Exposure Threat Level Measurer, sent a delegation to MACUSA Headquarters to hold an emergency meeting. It was at this meeting that Newt Scamander, Tina Goldstein, and Jacob Kowalski were falsely believed to have been responsible for the Senator's death and were arrested. Grindelwald, in his capacity as Director of Magical Security, sought to have them executed after Scamander and Tina discovered a hint over his true identity. Scamander, Goldstein, and Kowalski ultimately escaped the MACUSA becoming fugitives. After Scamander, Tina and Queenie Goldstein, and Jacob Kowalski were able to recover all of the escaped magical beasts, Grindelwald discovered that the identity of the magical force was indeed Barebone simultaneously revealing that the boy was an Obscurial. Grindelwald then attempted to persuade Barebone to join his cause after callously rejecting him which provoked Barebone into transforming once more into his Obscurus form and caused him to go on a rampage across the city. The rampage resulted in Credence Barebone seemingly destroyed at the hands of MACUSA Aurors, Gellert Grindelwald revealed and arrested by MACUSA, Goldstein and Scamander pardoned and thanked for their role in helping unmask Grindelwald, and the en masse obliviation of the thousands of New York City No-Maj residents and the MACUSA engaging in a major clean-up operation to repair the property damage caused. On 30 May 1927, the MACUSA, working with the International Confederation of Wizards, attempted to extradite maximum-security prisoner Gellert Grindelwald via use of a flying high-security carriage from New York to Europe. Several MACUSA Aurors escorted the carriage on broomstick, while additional Aurors along with the ICW's Head of Incarceration Rudolph Spielman guarded inside. The attempt was ultimately sabotaged by MACUSA worker-turned Grindelwald Acolyte, Abernathy, whom in fact managed to switch places with Grindelwald before the extradition. Grindelwald subsequently attacked the transport in the skies of New York, assuming control of the carriage by killing the Aurors and injuring Spielman, whom he threw off the carriage into the New York Bay, escaping with Abernathy into the night. Modern History and the Twenty-first Century The current President of MACUSA and leader of the American wizarding society is Samuel G. Quahog, a Boston native and former Auror. Following the kidnapping of Hans the Augurey by American fans celebrating the American team's success in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup against Liechtenstein, several terse letters were exchanged between President Quahog and Otto Obermeier, Minister for Magic of Liechtenstein. Luckily, Hans was returned the following day, 9 June 2014, and the relationship between the two countries seemed not to have been too damaged. Category:United States of America Category:Magical governments Category:Organisations